According to a new survey of Bering Sea sediment cores -- the results of which were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances -- ancient per

Ancient warming fueled massive marine dead zones in North Pacific

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2021-06-06 23:00:04

According to a new survey of Bering Sea sediment cores -- the results of which were published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances -- ancient periods of warming regularly produced dead zones in the northern half of the Pacific Ocean. Advertisement

The analysis could inform today's efforts to forecast hypoxic conditions in Earth's oceans, where oxygen levels are already steadily declining.

"It is essential to understand whether climate change is pushing the oceans toward a 'tipping point' for abrupt and severe hypoxia that would destroy ecosystems, food sources, and economies," study first author Karla Knudson, who led the study as a graduate student in Earth sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said in a press release. RELATED Global warming driving oxygen losses in Earth's freshwater lakes

In parts of the ocean where oxygen levels are sufficient to support marine life, sediment layers aren't neatly formed. They're mixed up and messy -- the evidence of biological activity.